Tom Green County, TX - Bios: Miss Mattie (Babe) Mather
TX BIOS: Mather
Selected and converted.American Memory, Library of Congress.
Washington, 1994.
Preceding element provides place and date of transcription only.
This transcription intended to be 99.95% accurate.
For more information about this text and this American Memory
collection, refer to accompanying matter.
U.S. Work Projects Administration, Federal Writers' Project (Folklore
Project, Life Histories, 1936-39); Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress.Copyright status not determined.
00011
Range-Lore
Ruby Mosley
Continuity
Page one
RANGE-LORE
"My father (Mr. Mather) came from England with his wife and four
children, settled in Louisiana, where two more children were born",
says, Miss Mattie (Babe) Mather of San Angelo, Texas. "This wife died
and he married Miss Sarah Parker Smith, who was twenty-one years of
age and had lived in Louisiana since the age of twelve, when she came
from Millageville, Georgia. My mother and father had two children in
Louisiana, then moving to Texas where ten more children were added to
the family while pioneering the wilderness and suffering hardships of
that area.
"My oldest brother Andrew was born in a tent/ in 1851, and was the
second white child born in Williamson County. He died at the age of 78
and was delivered back to his birthplace for
NOTE: C.12 - 2/11/41 - Texas
00022burial. That track of land had been converted into a cemetary/
and the same location of the tent was chosen for the grave.
"Our family became very prosperous, my father was a good manager with
family as well as business. Father soon owned and operated a grist
mill, flour mill, saw mill, blacksmith shop, post office and general
village store.
"When the Civil War broke out my father went to enlist but was not
permitted but requested to stay at home where he could care for the
little town, provide for the citizens, serve his country better at
home than in the army.
"In the early days Texas was some what made up of outlaws evading
punishment in their own state. Their children would say, 'What did
your father do that he had to come to Texas?' Then they would relate
murder and criminal stories that had brought their fathers to Texas.
"In those days Indians were still pilfering and pillageing the wooded
sections of Texas. I remember one particular tragedy that happened to
our friends that lived in Lampasas County near Williamson County.
"Marcus Skaggs 16, Benton Skaggs 12 and a kid friend about the same
age put their oxen to the wagon and went to my father's mill to have
the corn ground into meal. On the return some Indians stopped them,
the kids had no protection except the large forest on one side of the
road and a small one on the other. The boys chose the large forest
knowing the customs of Indians. The Indians emptied meal out of the
sacks, killed the oxen but did not enter the forest. The 00033Indians
disappeared and the boys wanting to see what had happened to the ox
wagon, went across the road to the small forest. People were often
fooled by the Indians imitating barking dogs and other familiar
animals. They watched the boys enter the small wooded section and
followed; here's where trouble began. The little friend was shot
through the temple, and Marcus in the hip. It was left to Benton the
12 year old boy to get aid. Night was drawing near, the two boys shot
and the oxen killed, Benton started home. He [chose?] the nearest
route possible; ran up the river where he came to the bodies of two
neighbors. The Indians had killed them and taken their guns and that's
what they used to shoot the boys. This gave Benton encouragement to
run for life, soon he came to one of the dead [DEL: men :DEL] men's
home; he was so tired that he drank a cup of coffee to give him
strength to get home. He kept all of the trouble to himself, did not
tell the lady of the house that her husband lay dead in the river
bottom. Benton ran home, got the men and a wagon to go after Marcus
and friend to bring them home. The friend died and Marcus soon
recovered. The next morning they told the women of their husbands and
brought their bodies home for burial.
"Fort Croghan was an Indian trading post; they would come here from
all parts of the wilderness to do their trading and begging. These
Indians would venture down to our tents, a different Indian would do
the talking and managing each day, pretending the others could not
talk. The Indians 00044were very fond of my father, mother and baby
sister. They would beg mother to let the baby go riding with them but
were always refused, they would give her anything they possessed, she
died at the age of two and had already collected about two yards of
Indian beads. Mother was crazy about honey, they wanted to give her
some, when she went after it she saw a green bag hanging on a limb of
a tree, as she drew nearer she decided that it must be a swarm of
bees, she could see something flying around, but was amazed when she
found it to be a bag of honey put up in a deer hide and was covered by
green flies. Father often went hunting with them and wasn't afraid he
was bald headed and said, 'They wont scalp me I don't have any hair on
my head. My father had a grind stone which caused much excitement
among the Indians. They could not understand its use. They would watch
my father grind his ax, then they would turn the stone with their
fingers pressed against it until their fingers would bleed and a few
times grind to the bone just to see what it was all about.
"The Mexicans would often come over and take the Indian squaws and
rush back to Mexico, then the Indians would go over and get their
wives some Indians and some Mexicans, this caused a mixture of the two
races. There was a big old Comanche Chief named Yellow Wolf, they
called him this because he was half Mexican. Old Yellow Wolf had a big
sore on the side of his stomach he would say, 'This side 'No bueno'
Mexican, this side 'Mas bueno', Indian. 00055"When I was a little girl
no womans dress was complete without hoops. At eight years of age I
decided that I too must wear hoops. My desire became so strong that I
consulted mother, she sent me to the store I had to beg and cry before
my uncle, salesman in fathers store would agree with me. I put them
on, pranced up the street and struted before my little friends. They
were much too long and I was teased by the observers which brought
tears again. Old Granny our nurse negro slave cut them off to fit, I
dried my tears and strutted until I became tired then decided to sit
down and when I did the hoops flew up and gave me a lick on the nose
that knocked me over and again I cried. Old Granny came to my rescue
as usual and taught me how to pull the hoops up in the back before
seating myself.
"When I was a little school girl 11 years of age paralysis struck an
optic nerve which caused me to be blind. I suffered and worried until
we found that I could continue my education by entering the Institute
for the Blind, Austin, Texas. I entered this institute in 1873 and
received my diploma in 1881. I remained there a year longer continuing
my music which proved to be helpful and entertaining throughout these
many years.
"In October, 1900 I came to San Angelo. My sister and brother kept
insisting that I come out and claim some school land by paying a small
fee. Guides were located in San Angelo, as new comers arrived these
guides would help them get located for $100.00. The confusion began
when more people came than land was available. In order to get the
usual $100.00 [?] 00066for location they would locate a new comer on
another man's property and go on the next. Of course this confusion
caused much trouble many times killing. I decided to buy my land.
"My sister Ada and I each bought twenty acres of the old Jim Farr
Ranch where we now live. She lives over there in the next house, she
only has two acres of land left she traded eighteen acres of this city
land for two-hundred acres out on Grape Creek where they are expecting
an oil boom, they have some oil near her place.
"You go over and let Ada show you her two acre farm, she is an old
maid also, you know I am 80 years old and she is a few years younger.
We don't live together it takes the entire house for each of us as you
know I'm blind and when I place something I want it to stay there
until I move it.
"If I were to go over she would start the chicken feud again. She is
really sold on Barred Rock chickens and white turkeys. She will also
show you a shoe box full of prize ribbons that she has won at
different fairs. I always liked the game chickens something that will
stand up for its own rights, they caused so much confusion that I sold
them.
"I read and write for most of my past time. I use the paint and
braille system to read and correspond with my blind friends. I bought
a typewriter and learned to write to my seeing friends.
"I am very independent even though some people say I'm handicaped. I
do not get a pension, I didn't ask for it, and don't want it. I am not
like those people begging for relief. 00077>"It is about time for my
exercise, (reaching up to touch her braille clock. You see I have the
chicken wire all the way around the porch, I walk up and down for
exercise. (She walked briskly up and down the porch still reminiscent
of the corset and bustle days of long ago).
"My real name is Mattie or Martha. When I was a child about three
years of age I took a sudden dislike to my name because so many people
called me (Marthie) instead of Martha. I like the name of Babe and
would not answer when called otherwise, so you must call me Babe
instead of Miss Mattie.
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